


Not So Strange Bedfellows

by LizRambler



Series: Sleepovers [9]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizRambler/pseuds/LizRambler
Summary: Tentoo and Rose pick up where Ten and Rose left off.
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Sleepovers [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531835
Comments: 19
Kudos: 99





	1. Chapter 1

Well, the other Doctor hadn’t done him any favors. The new new new Doctor thought he might as well have just slapped a collar and bow on him and presented him to Rose with a ‘beware of the dog’ sign around his neck. Not ideal. Rose was too smart for that sort of blatant manipulation. Wasn’t she? Yeah, she was. Unless she’d hit her head a zillion times while they were separated and become excessively stupid, she would have seen straight through that one. The only honest thing he’d said was admitting they both needed her. Spot on. Very Doctor to need/want Rose Tyler. He puffed out a breath. The rest though… rubbish. He was a fine Doctor! Still tall and slim. Still a bit foxy with great hair! And...and… All himself with a dash of Donna. Donna was brilliant! They were almost related now! He’d never had an older sister… just his older brother Brax. Woof. 

As they trudged through the sand to waiting transports, the Doctor was tingling with insecurity. The other one... Leaving the way he did, well, he understood it, he was Him after all give or take a few hours and a few organs. Seeing Rose snog you without all those lovely sensations like oh, the press of her hot soft human lips against yours or the taste of her lovely hot human mouth against yours… maddening. Well, he didn’t feel too bad for Him. His choice to be a wanker at that moment. Rose would have loved them both given half a chance. Besides, His stupid exit had ended his brilliant snog. It had put a pall over the thing. That was just something the Doctor would never forgive the other one for ruining his perfect moment. He’d even got to say it! Years since that conversation had cut off at the most important bit and he, not the other one, had gotten to say it! He earned that snog. That was… He puffed out a breath.

Of course, Rose had closed off after all that. Oh, she had allowed him to take her hand and offer comfort for a moment before Jackie had shouted for them to move. Rose had jumped away from him then, leaving him and the Tardis imprint on the beach behind. She turned tail to follow her mother. Frustrated with himself, the loss of the Tardis and Donna, he was taking it all in when he almost got left behind. Him? Left behind! Embarrassing that… last of the Timelords, well, in this universe anyhow, left begging on the sand. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he had used his long marvelous manly pins to catch up.

The second unpleasant moment of the day had come in the form of the cold weather. His suit was no match for the damp. He’d dressed in a hurry managing to get pants, trousers, and shirt but no henley, no tie, no long swishy coat. He was practically naked in front of them. No wonder his teeth had decided to chatter. Wracked with shivers, he cursed his new body for being warmer than he remembered. Heat regulation seemed to be on the fritz. No ability to control his core temp was going to be an irritant if it stuck. His eyes nervously search the sky. It was shifting from a lovely robin’s egg blue to a threatening gunmetal gray. If his weather sense could still be relied upon--and that was no guarantee being in a strange universe and strange body et all--rain was imminent. 

“After the last time,” Jackie was shouting into the wind, “I knew I’d end up back on this bloody beach. I said to my Pete, you remember my Pete? We got married.”

The Doctor did not roll his eyes. He was a meta crisis, not a brain-damaged clone. “I remember, had a baby too?”

Rose gave him a smile for his split-second misunderstanding. He winked. He may have for a moment there thought she’d defied convention, and species barriers to get pregnant. He had both been horribly relieved and tremendously disappointed. He would never wish her to raise their baby alone… but a baby between them would have been a genius with a great eye for the domestic. Practically a Sherlock Holmes… with Rose’s lovely eyes. Rose rolled them at him and kept walking. A Mrs. Marples? Oooh, a Veronica Mars... 

“Yeah Tony,” Jackie agreed bringing him back from his daydream and continued, “I said to him, Pete, not Tony. ‘You mark my words: We’re going to end up in Norway when this thing is all over. So, you better have transportation standing nearby.’”

The Doctor wondered if Pete liked being ordered around by Rose’s mother?

“‘Course, it was supposed to be just me and Mickey, not the three of us. I’m sure we’ll manage,” she finished cheerfully. “Wait til I tell Pete that you’re staying! He’s just gotten to know Rose. Isn’t that right Rose? He’s a proper father to her now.”

“That-that’s good, great, family is erm,” he began unsure how to end that sentence.

“You have no idea how happy will Tony be to see you, Rose. He adores his big sister.”

“Who wouldn’t?” the Doctor asked laying it on a bit thick.

Rose huffed out a noncommittal sound that tore at his hearts...erm, heart. Ew, one heart. It was grossly thumping away madly in his chest like it did not know how to regulate itself. He might need a pacemaker if this kept up. There was no way he was dropping dead of a heart attack when he had no spare to rely on. Human construction was frankly ridiculous. Imagine only having only one heart and two kidneys. It was like asking for death. At least he still had the extra ribs to protect the silly thing, and the way his middle was rumbling he might have retained both stomachs. He shuddered again as a blast of wind laced with mist hit him. He must have made a sound because Rose turned, noticing. She slowed. “I’m alright,” he muttered even as he stumbled a bit. 

“No you’re not, you’re freezing,” Rose whispered in his ear, the hot breath of her warming him all over. She slipped an arm around his waist and tucked herself in close. He may have gripped her a bit too tightly. She squeaked. He loosed his grip a smidge as her body heat seeped into him. “Where’s your superior biology now?” she asked.

It was meant to tease him. Instead, he felt mocked. Biting back a sharp retort, he gritted his teeth against another shiver. Rose fell silent. She hugged him tighter lending him more of her lovely warmth. “Sorry, you’re probably still fizzing,” she murmured. 

His eyes snapped to hers and he managed a smirk. “You remembered.”

Rose nodded. “‘Course,” she said as they crested a hill to see a small luxury zeppelin being buffeted by the wind. 

Jackie was shouting something at them from within the cabin. Thankfully they couldn’t hear her. He picked up the pace, practically dragging Rose along until they were inside. The wind cut out. The Doctor’s ears were left ringing in the sudden silence. Rose let go of him. Even though the cabin was toasty warm, he was ice. Jackie gave him a once over and handed him a small foil blanket. “Get comfortable. It’s a long flight home in these things. You might want to think about inventing proper planes now that you’re stuck here with us for good.”

He opened his mouth to say something cutting and stopped. Closing his mouth, he nodded and moved farther into the small cabin. There were wide sofa-like seats dotted around in lounge areas. Rose was already seated. He gravitated to her and hovered, unsure where to sit. The space beside her was open. The space across from her was open. She was staring out the window back down to the beach. His heart clenched. Oh well, in for a penny.

The Doctor flopped down next to Rose. “Your mother wants me to become Orville and Wilbur Wright,” he said arching his brows.

“I wouldn’t, they ran the first sex shop here,” Rose replied, coyly.

His jaw dropped open. When he managed to speak it came out all squeaky, “Oh yeah, well, right, good for them. I suppose that was a good trade-off.”

“Your face,” Rose teased. “They weren’t here. Never existed.”

He puffed out a breath. “And here I was looking forward to buying Wright Brothers' condoms, or fuzzy cuffs or…”

Rose snorted. “Yeah, you wish. You’ve never been in a sex shop in your life!”

“Have to,” he insisted, enjoying the look of interest on her face. 

“Have not,” she retorted. “You’re what? Six-maybe seven hours old? You’ve only ever been to the Crucible, the Tardis, and Norway,” she dripped disdain all over Norway.”

The Doctor fell silent. 

She bumped his elbow. “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I wasn’t hurt,” he replied, sounding hurt, “I was upset on behalf of Norway. They have a lovely krumkake.” The Doctor paused, thinking, “Really, I’m upset that we missed out on dog sledding and drinking Akvavit. It’s not exactly hyper-vodka…” Rose sniffled. The Doctor stopped talking to listen. 

Rose’s gorgeous hazel eyes were soft and watery. 

“Rose?” He reached out, taking her hand in his. She squeezed.

“Sorry, s’just confusing. You’re here and you left me. Not only did you leave me but you left me in bloody Norway. I just spent four years getting back to ya and you swanned off while we were…”

“Some of us had no interest in swanning off. Some of us were enjoying the moment. I was in the middle of something when I swanned off.” the Doctor remarked, brow arched.

Rose let out a watery snort. “Yeah,” a soft smile lit up her face. Hope bloomed in his strangely hollow echo chamber of a chest, then was dashed as she continued, “Can you give me a minute to process?”

“Oh, um,” he muttered letting go of her hand as if burned.

“I’m not angry with you,” she rushed to add then took a breath, “No, I am angry with you, not you you but him you and I need to be angry or sad or I don’t know. I need a minute.”

“Yes, yep, yeah, I’ll just…” The Doctor moved to get up. Rose grabbed his hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go.

Displaced, he roamed around the cabin. The foil blanket unwrapped into a decent size blanket. He wrapped it around his middle like a toga. His body was not warming. He hoped he wasn’t defective. Although he could go for a regenerative coma right now, skip this bit… or not wake up. With that chipper thought, he ended up at the back of the zeppelin. The Doctor stared out at the thick carpet of rain clouds below them. He let himself lose track of time as he stared.

Jackie found him there and handed him a cup of tea. “Just in case,” she said with a wink.

“You read my mind,” he said offering her his best happy grin.

“You’re heavy. Did you know? My Rose, Mickey and I had to carry you up two flights of stairs. You’d think being as skinny as you are, you’d weigh nothing.” Jackie mused.

“I’m surprisingly dense.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Jackie gave him a sidelong glance.

The Doctor snorted and sipped from the travel mug. It was loaded with sugar and almost too hot with a splash of milk. The Doctor sighed as the tannins slipped into his bloodstream and worked their magic. Warmth finally bloomed in his middle, spreading outwards. 

“You’re not going to slip into a coma again like you did that Christmas all those years back?” she asked, cornflower blue eyes crinkling with concern. 

He debated on pulling her into a big hug and telling her he missed her mothering. On one hand, it was one hundred percent true and he had but on the other, if he did, she’d never ever let him forget he’d been nice to her. He settled for being open. “Don’t think so.”

“Is it different when you grow out of a hand then, regeneration? Less traumatic or whatever?” 

Bless her little Tyler heart. The Doctor pulled her in for that hug. “Jackie Tyler! You lovely, caring old thing, you.”

“Oi, watch it, I’m only forty,” she growled, daring him to contradict her. 

“Forty--?” he barked.

She raised her slapping hand.

“Right, forty,” he agreed. “No idea...about the hand thing. I wasn’t even sure why I was keeping it. Jack had it and I thought, ‘well, that’s a spectacularly bad idea for bits of Timelord to just be hanging around Earth.’ So I put it on the Tardis. Never thought about it again. Then I needed a receptacle for the excess regeneration energy. Got shot by a Dalek and I didn’t want to change. Why would I? Rose was there and I wanted to avoid a coma. I like the way I look. More importantly, Rose liked the way I looked. Siphoned the excess into the hand and it sat there until Donna touched it. Instantaneous bio meta crisis… BAM! New Doctor. Same casing. Same everything mostly... I’m new. Brand new. First time anything like me has ever happened ever. Bonus Doctor! I’m a strange miracle. The lucky one. The one with Rose again.”

“I didn’t understand a word of that,” Jackie said, holding up a hand to prevent him from re-explaining. Jackie never ever even tried to understand the sci-fi stuff. He made a face and she rolled her eyes. “Bet you were a right laugh without my daughter.”

“Yeah-no. I was... I-ah, didn’t do well on my own.”

“Yeah? Then why aren’t you sitting with Rose then?” Jackie asked cutting to the heart of it.

“Rose, she ah, she needed a minute--without me.” He turned back to the view, sipping his tea. Hm, maybe he was heading for a coma. His limbs felt a bit leaden now or maybe that was just his hearts… erm, heart. “Apparently splitting into two people is confusing for some people. And Rose needed time to digest that while I left, I also, well, I didn’t. It’s complicated.”

“Not for you,” Jackie remarked, “for you, it’s all happy reunion day isn’t it?”

He nodded. “Well,” he drawled, “can’t be too complicated. I’m me! I even stole a chunk of Tar--””

“You bet it’s complicated!” Jackie turned away from the view and leaned against the rail to face him. “Four years she’s been at it, trying to get back to you, well, him, the other you? Oh, it’s so confusing! She had it all planned. Left notes for Tony to read and pictures. She packed up. She was leaving us all and this universe and it’s rubbish chips behind for you. And believe me, this is my best-case scenario. Oh happy day! I get to keep my daughter! But I did worry you’d send her back here for her own good and I’d lose her to misery. Or you’d keep her and I’d lose her. I have Tony but it’s not the same. Me and Rose, we were all each other had for a long time. She’s my daughter. I’d kill for her. I had to let her go, so she could be happy with you, you plum.”

The Doctor couldn’t meet her eyes. Losing Rose to misery… that sounded like Rose didn’t do too well here without him. He’s hoped… Rose was just so good at adapting. He expected her to miss him. Not pine. Not be miserable. He frowned his hearts, erm heart sinking.

“You hurt her now and I’ll kill ya.” she threatened. “She’s been through enough for you and that other one, other you… Reckon she’d furious with him for not saying goodbye. You better never leave her. I’ll hunt you down. And I’m rich now, so I have the resources to do it, too.”

“Jackie,” he growled.

“I mean it, mister.”

He stared at her, sipping his tea. She stared back, expecting what? An answer? A new promise? Oh, today was a minefield to navigate!

“You all full of fire and vengeance and all that like he said?”

“Nah,” he drawled, “just tea at the mo’.”

“Yeah, well,” Jackie trailed off.

“She threatening you?” Rose’s voice came from behind him.

“So what if I am?” Jackie squawked. 

“Stop Mum, he hasn’t done anything. Leave him alone,” Rose growled, sounding a lot like her overprotective mother at the moment. The Doctor smirked. Her eyes lingered on him before glaring at her mother. “It’s his first day,” Rose pleaded.

“I’ve had my say.” Jackie stood up straighter. “Me and him have come to an understanding. Haven’t we? I still call you Doctor, right? I mean, you’re not going to change your name to Doctor 2 or something daft like that?” she asked in a stage whisper. He nodded enthusiastically. “Right, we, the Doctor and me, have an understanding, for now.”

Rose checked him out going so far as to gently grip his chin and turn it left and right. “No handprints on him then? Go on, are you hiding them to protect her?”

Jackie sniffed, offended, and walked away from them. The Doctor toasted her with his travel mug. Rose’s eyebrows rose in surprise even as she came forward to grip the rail and lean into the view. He joined her. They watched the clouds turn from steel gray to a soft cottony white before breaking up and rolling away. Below them was an endless sea of blue. 

“Remember when I was in your head, after Scarris,” Rose began, leaning toward him a bit, “and you said if I died while in your mind that it would be ideal?”

The Doctor nodded as the memory of her entire self mingling with his made him flush.

“You said that my memories made me, me,” she continued giving him a sidelong glance. “That works for you too, doesn’t it? You’re all you, all the you you were is just in there being all you about it.”

He frowned. “Yes?”

“All those versions of you,” Rose tried again. “Like the cricket one, and the little one with the recorder and the leather jacket one, they’re all still inside you, this you. You didn’t just get this you and that’s it?”

“Rose,” he began, “It’s me. All of me. From the one that stole a Tardis and ran away from his responsibilities, to the me in pinstripes who got shot by a Dalek because he was too excited to see you to have the sense to look around him. I’m me. Properly me. Fully me. Me, me, me,” he cried. “I’m not a clone or a copy. I’m me.”

Rose nodded, thinking. “Bit egotistical, with all those ‘me’s just now.” 

He rolled his eyes. 

She bumped his shoulder. “C’mon you... you,” she teased, “we’ll be landing in a minute. Pete arranged for us to land in our own back garden. I don’t know about you with your nearly superior biology but I’m knackered.”

The Doctor followed Rose, pensive. Had he gotten through to her? Her cracks were harsher than normal, less lighthearted. Was that who she was now? Had dimension-hopping made her harder? Would she even like the man he was now? Should he try harder to prove himself? Would that help or hinder? Maybe he’d just let her make the next move. Give her the space to let go of the other Doctor and choose him. He could wait this out. He would just… maybe he would just keep his mouth shut so he wouldn’t cock this up any more than he already had, the pair of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose tries to make up for a poor start. This is clearly an HEA for Rose/Tentoo. If that's not your thing, please turn back now.

Rose Tyler, former shop girl, the former girl from the Estates, former god of Time, and now former time/dimensional traveler. Rose puffed out a breath. That beach was where she died once. She was determined not to feel that way ever again. She had saved the universe. She had found the Doctor. God, she had done so many sketchy things to fix everything. She had used the Tardis in an aborted timeline, and Donna, and… She had needed a moment. Rose Tyler, Defender of the Multiverse needed a moment. Maybe it was one minute too long but her best friend or soulmate or whatever had split into two people and how did that even work with soulmates? Did it matter? Felt like it did when one part of her soul had left the other parts behind. 

Rose was going mad. She both elated and in mourning. Her emotions were too big for her human skin and bones. She was bursting. Sitting in her seat alone after chasing the new one away, she stared out the window desperate to make sense of things. He left. Also, he stayed. How did that work? How did she make that work? She had chosen the one in blue, hadn’t she? She had. She had because he wasn’t trying to be stupid and sacrifice his own happiness for the universe. He wasn’t trying to send her away for her own good. He even asked her… He asked her if she wanted him to stay with her, spend his single life with her. Was that a proposal? Did she kiss him yes? Maybe? Yes, she… no, too much, backing away from that thought, she balled her hands into fists, leaving little crescent moons in the skin that had held two identical Doctor-y hands today. Two. One now. Rose worried a fingernail. Cracking up all on her own in a stupid zeppelin was not feeling like her finest hour.   
“Focus on now,” she whispered. “Stop being stupid. I’m Rose Tyler. I can handle anything. I have handled anything. I’ve handled monsters, aliens, the world falling apart. I’ve seen worlds freeze over. I’ve been to the end of the Earth and faced the bloody devil. I can handle the Doctor’s weird twin regeneration. S’not like I didn’t know he was an alien. S’never going to be easy. So I adapt. He adapts. We adapt...together.”

They were going to have to adapt. Would this Doctor in Blue be okay living a normal life? Would he panic? Her palms itched, sweating at the idea of a normal life. The Doctor wasn’t exactly a rugs, curtains and doors sort of person. If he was the same as the one in brown, it seemed like he was if a bit more perky puppy, he would chafe at jobs and obligations and spoons for jam jars. 

“Can I handle a normal life?” Rose slunk down in her seat. Who cared if he could live a normal life when she, Rose Tyler, wasn’t positive she handle a normal life. Both attempts at being a normal person had bored her to tears. She was the one who had stopped eating. The one who...gave up. Gave up until the stars started going out. God, she had jumped at the chance to toss herself into other dimensions. She was the stuff of legends. The stuff of legends didn’t sit around watching Coronation Street...unless they had saved the day earlier and were unwinding. They didn’t do taxes, and gym memberships and oh God, their own laundry. 

The dimension cannon project had kept her focused, kept her going and more importantly had kept her life weird. Rose had negotiated a peace treaty three months back in between jumps. She had also busted an alien drug ring in Sussex her first year here by being in the right bar at the right time and recognizing the drug-laced stickers from a fun party with Jack. Jack! At least Jack was alive...immortal though. Her fault! She had Bad Wolf-ed him! And he was working for his version of Torchwood! Her Torchwood, well, now mostly taken over by Pete’s World UNIT handled the alien stuff. And as far as she knew, she still worked there. If there were enough alien invasions for her then maybe there would be enough for the Doctor too. 

“I could always get laundry service. I am an heiress after all.” Rose mulled.

Or they could… travel Earth? 

Rose had bitten her lip hard enough to bleed. The coppery taste had galvanized her enough to leave her seat and hunt for the Doctor. She slipped into the pilot’s area. He wasn’t there annoying the pilots. Rose felt a hint of panic. He couldn’t leave the zeppelin. She knew that. He wouldn’t… Rose checked the sleeping cabin to see if he had decided to take a regenerative coma nap. The bed was made but the room showed signs of being investigated. An empty banana skin in the trash confirmed her suspicions that he had been here, not too recently. The peel was browning already. Slipping out of the cabin, she headed for the observation deck at the back. A breath whooshed out of her when she spotted the tall familiar frame wrapped in a silver blanket. He looked like a baked potato. Rose grinned and the tightness around her heart eased for a second before she spotted her mother beside him. It looked as if she were telling him off.

Rose ran Jackie off. The newest Doctor radiated smugness at her overprotective streak and allowed her to manhandle him. Rose admitted checking for slap marks was just an excuse to touch him. His skin was cool to the touch. That felt normal. He could be slightly warmer than she remembered only having a faulty human memory but he felt right. She let go. The ghost of a smile fleeted across his lips as he went back to drinking tea. 

Rose meant to tease him and failed. She implied he wasn’t the Doctor with her comments about his new hours old body. She had meant to just talk but had ended up forcing him to justify himself, justify his existence and what? The smile vanished. The hurt look in his eyes was too familiar to be anyone other than the Doctor. In fact he had worn this exact kicked puppy expression the first time she had questioned his identity. Rose vividly remembered him standing there with his new face and mad brown hair pouting. She had hidden behind a strut. She was making a hash of it and yet she kept saying stupid things. The Doctor went on about Norway for a bit to cover but Rose saw straight through it.

Rose wished she had opted for a post regenerative coma. Sitting in dead silence for several minutes, Rose’s guts roiled. They began their descent with him gripping the rail, deadly silent. Rose ran through a thousand different things to say. As they touched down, she muttered. “Sorry.”

“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t be sorry.”

Rose shut up. Right now she smelled like fire, smoke, and snark. She was a cow. It pained Rose to watch the Doctor had gone from being his bouncy puppy self to telling her what she wanted to hear to being guarded to frustrated silence. It didn’t help that she was well past tired and into exhaustion. The adrenaline had run out ages ago. Her hands shook where she gripped the rail biting back things she didn’t want to say and didn’t mean at all. She mouthed the word ‘sorry’ again but didn’t say it out loud. She had cocked this whole thing up astronomically.

Rose knew on some level it was because the Doctor in Blue thought she was comparing him to the Doctor in Brown and finding him lacking. It wasn’t... The other Doctor was gone and she couldn’t help but be sad for him. Oh, she didn’t buy his load of bollocks about this new Doctor being dangerous. She wasn’t nineteen anymore. She could see a con a mile away. It was fine, no it wasn’t fine but it was what happened. She liked the Doctor in Blue’s hopeful eyes. He, the other one in Brown, he had looked...worn. Her heart broke for him. She would have helped him if he wanted her to help. He hadn’t. He’s been in full martyr mode. Rose hadn’t had the time to stop him from hurting himself. He was determined to leave her. That’s why he skipped out during what had been turning into a very hot, better than her memories snog. At least he had Donna to smack some sense into him. 

She hoped he would be alright.

Speaking of making things alright for Doctors, Rose needed to do better. So, she bit her tongue and stewed, thinking hard. The landing took longer than it should have increasing her frustration and his misery. Rose felt the distance brewing between them. He was closing up tight in reaction to her closing up. She wanted to grab his hand but he had stuffed them in his pockets to protect himself from assumed rejection. Rose huffed out a breath. Why were they so… so… awkward?

Rose Tyler’s feral grin appeared as memories sparked. They had been awkward before. Once… a long time ago, and she knew exactly how to fix it. She’d need supplies. Jacie appeared as the gangplank was brought to the doors. Her mother gave her a look that Rose was sure meant ‘Rose looks like she needs a nap.’ Rose ignored her. The Doctor nodded to Jackie and avoided her eyes. Rose wanted to scream. She needed to fix this fast.

Rose hopped out of the zeppelin and raced up to the house. The Doctor and Jackie trailed behind her. A second wind had caught her and she was going to ride it out. She dove into Pete’s arms just inside the foyer. He picked her up and spun her around before dropping her to the Travertine tiles.

“I am sorry it didn’t work out the way you planned, sweetheart. But I am so happy to still have a daughter in my universe,” Pete said and pulled her in tight against him. 

“Yeah, just wait until you see what I’ve brought home with me,” Rose said.

Pete’s spine stiffened as the Doctor entered. Rose let go of Pete to face the Doctor. He breezed into the room, the picture of nonchalance. Rose smirked. That meant the Doctor was nervous. His eyes darted around, not settling and his mouth started on its own, “Hallo Pete! You’re looking surprisingly healthy for a man married to Jackie Tyler. What a lovely mansion you have? Same one as last time, is it? You’ve redecorated. I suppose that’s good? What with all the Cybermen and…”

“It’s a different house,” Rose told him.

“Oh, good,” he remarked, relieved, “that would have been awkward. Hate when things are... Don’t suppose there are any vacancies? I seem to be homeless...again.” The Doctor in Blue made a face like he’d eaten a lemon. “Still...things could be worse. Jackie could have cooked.”

Jackie cuffed him. Rose hid a grin.

Pete shook his hand, “Yeah, yes, of course, Doctor. Stay as long as you need,” he exclaimed shifting his eyes to Rose and Jackie. “Someone owes me an explanation.”

“Mum’ll explain.” Rose shoved her mother towards her father.

“Oh, Pete, you’ll never believe who I saved the universe with,” Jackie said as she slipped into his arms. “Sarah Jane Smith!”

“The gossip columnist??” Pete’s eyes lit up.

The Doctor glanced at her and mouth, ‘gossip columnist?’ Rose shrugged. He glanced away.

Rose kept her focus. This was going to work. He’d know what she was doing right away if he saw her in the kitchen with the tray. So, she needed to get everyone off to bed for it to work. Rose did let her mum and dad cuddle for a minute. Seeing her trans-dimensional parents together was still adorable. The Doctor approved if the soft smile playing around the corners of his mouth was any indication. 

“No explanations until tomorrow,” Rose announced. “I couldn’t make sense of anything until I get a few days of sleep at least.”

“Rose, UNIT is going to want a full debrief… that is if you still want to work there,” Pete said.

“They can wait too. Pete, I couldn’t spell my name on one form let alone in triplicate. ‘Sides, I’ve got three years of personal time saved up.” Rose watched the Doctor frown at that. Tough. She hadn’t wanted to take the days off. She was willing to rest now, wasn’t she? 

“Pete, take me to bed.” Jackie purred, pawing at him.

Okay, not so cute. The Doctor blanched, looking away with a disgusted face. Rose fought back a chuckle because her parents were leaving. She now had time for the plan. She was also nervous because for the first time ever, she was alone with this new, new, new version of the Doctor. Annnnnnnnd he was not meeting her eyes. Rose looked away, tugging on her earring. 

“So,” she began.

“So,” he agreed.

“Right,” Rose mumbled, hoping this plan would work and that this was the right tact to take with him. Pushing on, she did her best impression of him, well, the old him, and said, “Upstairs on the third floor, down the corridor, second door on the left. That’s your room. It’s as far away from Mum as you can get.”

“Right,” he echoed, “my own bedroom… that’s a first.” He lingered, tugging on his ear and looking as if he wanted to say something. Rose waited, holding her breath but he just shrank in on himself a little bit. Rose almost gave up on her plan to toss herself into his arms. “I’ll just…”

“Yeah,” Rose agreed, biting her lip to keep from spoiling her plans.

“Okay,” he said and walked off.

Rose dove into the kitchen. She pulled the breakfast tray out from the pantry. She put the kettle on and raided the shelves for snacks. Biscuits, chocolates, cheese, jams, and all sorts of drinks. If it was like a regeneration, the Doctor’s tastebuds would be different. After the last time, he had tossed his body wash, the Earl Gray tea, and the sauce from that small restaurant planet into the bin. She wanted to make sure he had an ample selection. The tea… well, she just made English Breakfast since it was all Jackie had in.

A tiny body slammed into her legs as she was adding a few cans of carbonated vitex to the tray. Rose leaned down to scoop up the tiny redhead. “Tony! What are you doing out of bed?”

“Rose, Mummy said you were leaving,” he whispered, clutching at her shirt. “You smell like a fire.” He slammed his body into her chest.

“Sorry little man,” Rose’s heart constricted squishing him against her and smelling his baby shampoo. “I was… I was going to go traveling with my friend.” Rose bit her lip to keep from tearing up. 

“You were going away because you don’t like me anymore,” Tony said mournfully. “Because I broke your picture.”

Rose switched him to her hip. He was almost four now and weighed a ton. Her heart went out to him. “No, who cares about a stupid picture? Besides, doesn’t matter now. I’m here. Not going anywhere for a while.”

“Promise?” Tony’s wide blue eyes were watery. 

Rose kissed his head as a flush of guilt flooded her. “Yeah, yes, pinkie swear.” She held out her pinkie and his little one wrapped around it. “Now let’s get you up to bed. In the morning, you can meet my…” Rose hesitated, “friend.”

“Kay,” he whispered. “Can I have a biscuit?”

“Yeah, can you walk, so I can hold the tray?” 

Tony took a biscuit for each paw. He wrapped an arm around her leg though to keep in close contact. Rose was beside herself. She had been a lousy sister to him in the last year. She hadn’t wanted him to miss her too much. She had hoped he would be too young to remember her at all. “Tone, do you want another biscuit?”

Tony shook his head. “No tummy aches before bed,” he said sagely.  
“Yeah, alright,” Rose agreed. She put her tray on the hall table, opened Tony’s door and tossed him giggling into the bed. “Get some sleep.”

“You won’t go away?” he asked.

“Nah, just going to sleep.” 

Rose tucked him in. “Now get to sleep before Mum comes in here and catches you covered in biscuit crumbs. Our secret okay?”

“Mm-hmm. I’ll lick my fingers clean,” he promised.

Rose snorted. “Yeah, okay. But normally we wash our hands clean.” Tony made a face that reminded her of the Doctor. “I’ve got things to do tiger. Lick those fingers clean! Sweet dreams!”

She closed the door and turned to face Jackie Tyler in her robe. “Rose...”

Rose jumped. “Mum!” 

“Tony get into the biscuits?” Jackie asked, spotting the tray.

“No,” Rose lied.

“Where is himself then?” Jackie asked.

“Shower probably, that’s where I’m headed.” Rose lifted her tray hoping her mother would take the hint.

“Want me to get him some of Pete’s pajamas?”

She had not thought about the pajamas. “No, it’s fine. I can lend him some of mine.”

“I guess he’s thin enough for it,” she conceded. “Are you alright? After today?”

“Mum, not now, honestly,” Rose growled. “We can all talk tomorrow.”

“God, you’re a bear when you’ve been up all night, aren’t you? Fine. I know when I’m not wanted. Rule stands, no shagging in my house,” Jackie said, pointing a finger at her as she opened the door and disappeared into Tony’s room.

Rose raced into her room. She could hear the shower going in the other room, the room where she’d put him. Good. Rose placed the tray on her side of the bed. She grabbed a pair of long pajama pants and a blue top. He liked blue. His suit was blue. She slipped in through the connecting door and luckily he hadn’t closed the bathroom door. Resisting the urge to peek, she dropped the pajamas onto the counter and retreated. She dove into the shower to scrub the muck off of herself. Rushing through, she wanted to be on the bed when he came in. She hopped out and wrapped her hair in a towel why she dressed. 

His shower was still going. Rose wished she had known he was going to take forever. She would have shaved her legs. Instead, she dragged a brush through her wet hair impatiently, staring at the connecting door, willing it to open. She’d given him a room without a bed. He’d have to cotton on pretty quickly. The water went off. Rose bit a fingernail to the quick. She waited and watched the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rose is trying so hard and mucking it up a bit. Have pity on her. She's just saved the universe...again. Sorry, about the guilt trip with Tony but whatever. Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting back to normal.

Awkward. Awkward. Everything was awkward and awful and it was only his first day. Genocide and awkwardness. Not that the Daleks didn’t have it coming. How many times could he spare them only for them to come back and murder more people? Rose wouldn’t hold that against him, would she? Nah, she’d known it was necessary. Not that he didn’t feel guilty. Rubbing at his face, he realized he didn’t feel all that guilty. Hundreds of years fighting the Daleks and for what? To see them survive again and again and kill. He dismissed it. The awkwardness was more important right now. The genocide...well, couldn’t be helped now.

He climbed the steps like a man going to the gallows. The awkwardness was so bad that Rose hadn’t even wanted to have a chat. She just sent him away, off to his room. Alone. His new body didn’t like being alone any more than his old one. He was feeling more and more like that collar and bow were both choking him. He was the Doctor’s gift to Rose and she was a few days from returning him for a refund. Joke was on her, there were no refunds, no returns and no exchanges for self-destructive full Timelords. He sniffed, wondering if Torchwood had an alien pound. If Rose would drop him off there. Or… a little frizzle of hope rushed through him.

Or, she was tired. She was so very tired, and more than a little disappointed, and wanted sleep… Smirking, the Doctor reflected that sleep was indecently important to human brain functions. Rose had nearly bitten his head off for waking her up too soon after the time they were trapped in a prison for a week. The bed had been inhabited by sentient bedbugs and Rose had done an awful lot of screaming and not sleeping. That had not been a great adventure, even after the bugs helped them escape. She’d warmed up to them a bit, a smidgeon by the end but not enough to want to sleep near the blood drinkers. He’d given her an eternity of sleep too before waking her up. It had been nearly four whole hours, well, closer to three and a half. Who needed more than that? A cat? A sloth? Nah, sloth’s didn’t bung a shoe at you when they were sleepy.

A tired Rose Tyler was a grumpy Rose Tyler. He scratched at his brow where the shoe had connected. Sometimes he felt a bit of phantom pain there. Lesson learned; make sure Rose was nowhere near projectiles when waking her. “She just needs a rest. Then she’ll find me charming. I am incredibly charming. She can’t resist me forever,” he muttered.

The Doctor slipped into the room, erm, his room, shucking clothing. The Doctor kept going into the ensuite without glancing around. He couldn’t face the idea of his own bed. It could be the softest, loveliest thing in the world with giant pillows and warm blankets but without the Tardis’ gentle hum in his mind and Rose’s warm breath on his neck, he wasn’t sleeping. He'd be staring at the ceiling. 

Sometime soon he would need to empty his suit pockets of all the things he had swiped from the Tardis before Jackie sent his suit out to get cleaned. And there was a lot. No way did he trust Himself enough to think He wouldn’t toss him out on his own. He knew he was going to Norway the minute he’d been ignited? Meta-crisis-ed? Donna had given him a look and the Doctor had raced to fill his pockets with as many useful things as he could filch. Jackie was going to try and burn it if he wasn’t careful. The Doctor took a minute to stuff his suit into a cupboard under the sink in the bathroom. 

He would sonic it, tomorrow. At the moment, he smelled like fire. Also, he had taken that electrical blast to the chest. Needed to take a look at that while he was alone. The bathroom was stark white. His shirt was off. The Doctor faced his reflection. 

“Don’t look at me like that. She’ll come around. We’ve been through this before,” he told the sad eyes in the mirror. 

Dipping them down to his thin chest, he examined the mark from where Davros’ blast had hit him. The skin was angry red at the center fading to pink then to the pale milky white color of his pale skin. Touching it produced no pain response except for vague itchiness. Excess regeneration energy had taken care of it then. Looked like a bad sunburn. If he was still a lucky man, it would fade by morning. 

“C’mon Doctor, stay lucky,” he whispered.

The Doctor stepped into the shower adjusting the water until if was broiling. The chill inside him had not abated. Hot hot hot water would chase the cold from his hearts, damn it, heart. Heart. Heart. Heart. One heart. Letting out a frustrated puff of air, he got under the spray. Hissing as the hot water sluiced today away. The Doctor reached for the soap and scrubbed his new skin pink. The soap smelled like chemicals meant to be unscented. He grimaced. First on the shopping agenda would be natural soap. The Doctor reached for the shampoo. Popping the cap, he inhaled. The shampoo smelled like Rose’s. Could he finally have his hot part human little hands on one of her mystical hair products? The shower filled up with the scent of fruit. His hair was going to be even more magnificent with Rose’s magical shampoo. Rose liked his hair. This could give him the edge. This… Maybe tomorrow when she was well-rested, he could win her over with his clean hair. She loved his hair.

The Doctor felt better the cleaner he got, more hopeful. The quick glance in the mirror reminded him that he was still the lanky bloke she liked, he knew he was still brilliant, and impressively alien-like she liked. Rose wouldn’t have gone back to human blokes in his absence, would she? Did she now date accountants? Or worse, had she and Mickey… Nah, too normal. Rose liked Timelords. And he was all Timelord where it counted. The Doctor took a quick glance down. Body was what he remembered. All the bits were… accounted for. Becoming human-ish hadn’t changed his packaging at all. Tilting to look, he caught a glimpse of his mole on his back and was cheered. Not one jot of his exterior had changed from the last time Rose had erm, had a look.

Taking his sweet time meant the water turned icy. Yelping, he hopped out and wrapped a large white fluffy towel around himself, cursing this house’s lack of unlimited hot water. He glanced at the cupboard full of his stinky clothing. No way could he put any of it back on. Wrinkling his nose, he supposed he could sleep naked. Maybe he could wrap the little foil blanket around himself like a toga? Meh. Couldn’t be bothered now. Rubbing his hair dry with a second towel, he noticed a toothbrush and toothpaste beside a pair of blue pajama bottoms. “Where did you come from?”

He slipped the bottoms on, humming as the soft material touched his new skin. A light blue tee lay underneath. It was a girly cut with a bunny on. Good thing he was slim and liked bunnies. Pulling the outfit on, the shirt was a bit cropped and the legs were to his ankles. Snorting, he realized he was wearing Rose’s pajamas. There was deodorant in the medicine cabinet. He used it. It smelled like lavender. There were no hair products. He had her shampoo but not the other secrets. Well, it was something. He ran a hand through his rapidly drying locks to attempt to ruffle them into peaks. “Oh,” he drawled, “soft.” He played with the locks for a few minutes longer almost achieving the look he wanted.

Stepping out of the en suite, he paused. 

“There’s no bed in here.” Frowning, he checked the closet for a murphy bed. Nope. There was a large window overlooking the grounds and he liked the view very much. Still, the room only had an armchair and a desk in it. It was more suited for an office than a bedroom. Had Rose decided he wouldn’t want one? It was possible. He had never needed one before. 

The Doctor circled the armchair. It was too small for a proper nap. Even if he curled up in a ball he would hang over. The floor was carpeted. He could… Only there were no blankets… Surely Rose would leave him one or two fluffy blankets? A pillow? Glowering at the armchair, he wondered if Pete had a library that he could bed down in? He frowned at the room around him in consternation.

“Oh, secret door,” he purred, noticing a recessed panel that resembled the wall around it, except for the seam. Unable to resist, he approached the seam. Tapping it experimentally, he stepped back when it opened outward. The room beyond was pitch black. He slipped inside. A light clicked on. Blinking, he spotted the large bed dominating the distinctly feminine room. 

“Hi,” Rose said, brightly. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed. Rose’s hair was damp and curling. She was in sleep shorts and a tee. His mouth watered. Rose Tyler was breathtaking. She curled a lock of hair around her fingers and worried it.

“Oh, is this your room?” he asked conversationally, as he had a good nose around. A picture of them from their second Christmas sat on a dresser. He smirked at their paper crowns. Beside it a little print out of a vandalized Doctor with blue bows in his hair. That had been the screensaver on her phone for the last four months they were together. He had one of her sleeping with her hands dipped in varnish on the Tardis… had, he had one. The rest of the room was bare. The wallpaper was a hideous large pink rose print. Curtains in white covered the window. The bed dwarfed the ample room. His eyes were drawn to it. Rose was on her own fluffy island. 

“I like your room,” he offered, unsure how him he should be in this moment.

“Did you like yours?” Rose asked. There was something mischievous about her tone.

He perked up. Was she playing with him? Warmth blossomed and spread out from where his stomach(s?) lived and reaching down to his extremities. “Yes, yep, erm, it’s a lovely room. Good sturdy desk. Lovely view. No bed though,” he added, actively eyeing up hers.

“Thought you didn’t need one.” She said in a rush and oh, she was definitely teasing him! His hearts, no his heart picked up speed, adding to the heat within him. “Timelord et all.”

“Never did before,” he agreed as he stalked her bed. “Might do now.” What was she up to? Was she going to banter then shunt him off to his real room or… Or… His insides blazed. The Doctor beamed.

“Nah,” she drawled, letting go of her mangled curl. “You can kip anywhere. There’s even a unicorn float in the pool.”

“Is there?” he asked pretending to seriously consider it. 

A hint of a smile was playing around her lips. Oh, the Doctor was getting in that bed. Well, he was going to do his damndest to get it into her bed. Rose arched a brow and offered up, “Or, oh, there’s this sofa in the library you’d just love.”

He arched a brow. “A library sofa? That is a place I will investigate later. Not now. Where else?” he asked standing on the carpet in his bare feet moving to his side of the bed. “Window seat? Low wall? Patch of grass under a big tree?”

“Tony has a treehouse.” Rose’s eyes were glittering.

“Perfect,” he said as he stared into her lovely hazel orbs. He wasn’t talking about the treehouse, although, he was investigating that later. Treehouses were brilliant. Rose teasing him was a miracle. The Doctor wasn’t convinced he hadn’t fallen asleep in the shower and was dreaming this as he drowned. “I’ll just borrow a blanket and take one of these giant pillows. You won’t miss one, you have hundreds.” He reached out to steal one.

“Unless…” Rose began.

“Unless…?” he asked, delighted.

“I dunno, you might want to share,” she glanced away from him. 

Suddenly shy, Rose went back to mangling her curls. She’d be biting her nails in a minute. All signs of a nervous Rose Tyler. As if he would ever reject her offer. It was all he ever wanted. Not the bed, the closeness. While her gaze was averted, the Doctor snuck a knee up onto the bed, testing it for softness. It was soft with a capital ‘S.’ Resisting the urge to moan at the comfort, he sat and sneaked his other leg up. He was kneeling on the bed next to Rose Marion Tyler. Years away from her... This moment was surreal and all he ever wanted. He’d dreamed about this.

Rose watched him settle in, spine stiff. “I’m sorry ‘bout earlier.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he interrupted and she glared him into silence.

“Yeah, I do. So shut up.” Rose grimaced, “I didn’t mean to upset you earlier. I--didn’t mean to be stupid...And now things are so...” she trailed off waving her hands helplessly.

“Awkward.” The Doctor felt that deep down in his brand new bones.

“We can’t be awkward,” Rose told him, fidgeting. “It’s not very us.”

He nodded. “How do we become un-awkward?” he asked, resisting the urge to bounce a bit on the big fluffy, soft bed of one Rose Marion Tyler. “What can I do?”

“Wait there, don’t move,” Rose said and spun around. The Doctor was treated to an amazing view of her rear bumper wiggling as she leaned over the side of the bed. Rose popped up a second later with a large tray of goodies. “The tea’s gone cold. You took forever in the shower.”

“What?” he drawled, “are we having a sleepover, Rose Tyler?”

“If you want,” Rose offered. “S’sort of a thing we do, did… Is this stupid? This is… Stupid. I’ll just…” she lifted the tray. 

“Don’t you dare!” The Doctor grabbed the tray, holding it and her still. “This is a brilliant idea!”

“Even with cold tea?” Rose asked.

“I love cold tea,” he replied. “Well. I can tolerate cold tea.” He remarked deciding that maybe being less guarded and ruder would soothe Rose’s nerves. He was rude. He’d even missed out on his last opportunity to be ginger. Donna having all that lovely red hair and not sharing was a crime! “Let’s drink cold tea and make faces about it.”

Rose let go of the tray. The Doctor took his chance and swooped in to pour the tea. It felt warm to the touch. Rose sat back against the headboard. He glanced at her holding up the usual (two sugar cubes.) She nodded. He dropped the mug into her waiting hands, careful not to touch her, to spook her. Fixing his own mug, he leaned back against her headboard. 

Rose leaned against the headboard next to the Doctor still in Blue. His eyes had gone from wary to interested. The spark of curiosity lit up his whole face. It was incredibly Doctorish the way he looked at her as if she were a complicated maths problem he was determined to solve. Rose sipped her tea. She felt complicated. She wasn’t the same girl who traveled with him in the Tardis. She had been on her own for a long time. Sure, she had her family but when she jumped, more often than not she had been on her own. Things had happened. She had hardened up. Right now she was trying to make a conscious effort to not be hard. Her muscles were stiff and she was rife with tension. Was this how he had felt when he had first regenerated and offered her hot cocoa? 

“They have Harry Potter here.” 

His eyes practically glowed. “Is it...different?” He dragged the word 'different' out as if trying to decide if it tasted bad. 

Rose held up a remote. “Want to find out?”

“Yes!” Rose couldn’t help smirking at him. 

The Doctor bumped her shoulder merrily sending a jolt of shock through her tense form. Rose tried not to react, tried not to recoil, but she must have done something to telegraph because he scooched over, putting space between them. Rose bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration. She hit the control. The panel in the wall slid open to reveal the flatscreen.

The Doctor leaned forward then his eyes flitted around the room. “Is everything in this mansion behind a secret panel?” 

She gave him a look. “Guess you’ll just have to find out.”

“Ugh, you’re not going to tell me? That’s cruel! What if Jackie Tyler knows them all? What if she appears out from behind potted plants and gives me a heart attack? I’ve only the one heart now. I’m delicate!” His mouth clicked shut, eyes bugging out as he realized he had referenced himself as not the two-hearted Timelord. He had mentioned he was different with a capital ‘D’. The Doctor’s expression went neutral as he snapped a mask in place, probably hoping she hadn’t noticed. 

Rose shoved him, playfully. “I have one heart. Am I delicate?”

“No, nope, no, never,” the Doctor floundered. “So...erm, Harry Potter?”

Rose let him settle down. The film started. At first, they were both careful not to get in one another’s way when taking food off the tray. His long fingers neatly stealing the sweets. But as the film dragged on and their interest focused on the screen, they’d scramble for the same biscuits and bites of cheese, fingers touching or backs of hands or thumbs. Each was a tingly shock for Rose. The Doctor’s eyes never left the screen.

The tray was discarded when their bellies were distended. The Doctor moaned. “My first meal in this body and my last I think.” 

Rose snorted. “If I offered you jam right now…”

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no I couldn’t possibly--wait. What kind of jam?” 

Rose slapped him with a small throw cushion. A giggle escaped him. “What did you think of the differences?” she asked.

“I think the lack of second heart is stupid. Still have two stomachs. Still telepathic that’s good. I’ve retained most of my twenty-seven senses. Although taste is off a bit or the milk was off in that tea. My new human endocrine system is confusing and reactive in a way that I’m not vaguely comfortable with...Human hormones woof. I’d need a scan to be sure… Overall, s’not a bad set of differences to get used to---Oh, and you were talking about the movie. Erm, I like that the Weasley Twins survived. Mind you, Daniel Radclife was a better Harry than that one…” The Doctor snapped his mouth shut to stop himself from talking. He went so far as to bite his lip against what Rose imagined was a tidal wave of things he was holding inside.

Rose reached out and caught his hand around the wrist. She flipped it examining it for a join. She had done this once before and there was still no line. He had sprung fully formed from this little bit. She ran a finger down the palm. He shivered, twitching in her grip. “New new new Doctor is still ticklish.”

He rolled his eyes. “New skin, Rose. New skin is sensitive,” he corrected.

Deliberately, she ran another finger down his palm to see him jump for a second time. Taking pity on him, she let go of his hand to run hers through his slightly damp baby chick fluff. The Doctor’s eyes slipped to half-mast. He would have closed them if he wasn’t so busy watching her pet him. A rumble escaped him. Embarrassed, he did shut his eyes. “New new new Doctor is still a giant cat.”

“Rose,” he drawled, adding a zillion ‘s’s into it. “Not a cat.”

He didn’t pull away when she added a second hand to his hair to really ruffle it. He did squawk a bit. She sat back. “How do you feel about bananas?”

“Love bananas.” 

“Can you get drunk now?” Rose asked, curious.

His nose wrinkled up. “No, don’t think so. Maybe? I could always add a pinch of ginger to my drinks if you want me to embarrass myself in public. Rose what are you-?”

“Examining the packaging,” Rose explained. “It’s what I do when you regenerate.”

“It is,” he agreed. “Last time…Is that...is that alright?”

Rose’s heart swelled. “Yeah, yes! ‘Course, don’t be stupid.”

“Yeah? Even if this body is going to get all wrinkly and silver-haired in forty years?” He asked, grabbing her hands. 

Electricity sparked from where his fingers touched her skin. He was warmer now, not as warm as she. “Gonna go gray in forty years?” she asked. “Most people start graying around thirty.”

“I’m not most people. Besides, I’ve been gray loads of times. This body is new. Should last a good long while yet. Plenty of time for fun. I could even dye it if I go gray next year or something daft like that. But you’re stuck with this mug. No more get out of death free cards. No more change…”

Rose squeezed his hands. “Everything changes. S’not just you. I’ve changed too.”  
He bobbed his head. Then he pulled his hands free of hers to plunge them into her hair and muss it. She squealed falling backward and he followed her to mess her hair up a bit more. Rose slapped at him playfully. “I’m looking for the changes!” he protested, backing off. 

Rose’s chest was heaving. The momentary warmth of him pressed against her was… Rose shunted her mind away from those thoughts. “Thinner, military-trained, got my A levels and a few degrees, bit less pink--Bit less mascara… I got used to doing everything on my own.”

He waved it all off, “You were always fiercely independent and competent. I don’t care if you’re thinner as long as you’re Rose Tyler in there.” he tapped her temple. Rose felt the buzzy hum of his mind for a second before his finger pulled away. “I do miss the mascara,” he murmured, wistfully. “Made your eyes pop!”

Rose exploded into a fit of laughter. “I liked your hair a bit longer at the back.”

“I’ll grow it. If… you give me your hair product secret!” The Doctor flipped onto his stomach to watch her. “I’ll grow it all the way down my back and let you braid it into complicated hairstyles like Princess Leia if you want.”

“I can get some darker, thicker mascara,” Rose conceded. “We have to shop for clothes for you an’ we can get some of my hair stuff for you. Can’t have your hair lying flat.”

“Wonderful! We can hit all the boutiques! I love a boutique. Booo teek. Then we can have a coffee and one of those scones…” He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes bugged out. 

Giggling Rose used the headboard to hold herself up. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you got a bit of Donna in there, don’t you?”

“Oi!” he shouted then slapped both hands over his mouth, causing him to tip forward into his pillow. “It’ll fade,” he muttered into the pillow.

“S’fine,” Rose said slipping down to lie flat. Her second wind had evaporated. Her eyelids slipped shut. Her breaths evened out. She managed to mutter, “You always did like a little shop.” Rose didn’t hear his answer. She was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story just keeps getting longer. Sorry. It was supposed to be a one-shot! Thanks for all the lovely comments throughout.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the sleepover.

The Doctor left Rose softly snoring. It had been difficult. The careful boundaries he had maintained while awake had been obliterated by sleeping in a bed with Rose. The pair of them were born cuddlers. His eyes had snapped open because he was broiling. The blankets and Rose had been wrapped around him in a tangle. Unfortunately, instead of being able to enjoy the warmth, his bladder had let him know he was getting up. The human body was not good at controlling functions, the Doctor learned from the incessant need to relieve himself. His old body had used almost everything he ingested efficiently. Stubbornly, he held on as long as he could. Rose’s soft snores had been holding him in place, filling his heart up with sunlight. Gently, he had rolled her back onto her side of the bed. Mumbling, she had wrapped her arms around his waist pressing him closer to her. The Doctor had discovered in that moment another uncomfortable truth about being a human man in the morning. Hissing, he had exited the hug, escaping to the ensuite. 

Padding around the kitchen with the tray, he set to work making breakfast. His internal clock had reset itself to Pete’s World Time. It was after 9:15:43 AM. The house was quiet, unnervingly so. Didn’t a toddler live here? Was Tony still a toddler? Humans grew like weeds, didn’t they? Deciding not to press his luck, he stuck to toast, jam, more of that soft cheese Rose had fed him last night, a few bananas, some strawberries, and a fresh pot of tea. No one needed him burning bacon and setting off a fire alarm or in Pete’s case a tactical squad from Torchwood. He even stuck the dishes from the previous night into the dishwasher. No sense annoying his hosts too early. Not until he convinced Rose to move out with him. Talking, and planning and romantic aspirations were going to take time. Time he’d rather not take under the baleful eye of Jacquelin Andrea Suzette Prentice Tyler. Honestly, the woman could slap the stone facade off of a building. Whistling a Hozier song he spun to put the hot pot on the tray.

“What the hell are you doing?” JackieTyler stood there in all her velour tracksuit glory. Had her face always been that imposing? Had she always worn that particular shade of purple? It was hideous. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and her expression was a messy scowl. 

Struggling to keep his grip on the hot pot, he yelped. “Jackie! I almost burned your face off!” 

“Where’s Rose?” Jackie eyed him up and down. “Are you wearing her PJs?”

“Yes.”

“Why the hell are you wearing her pajamas!?” Jackie’s hand raised to slapping height. 

The Doctor shushed her while taking an enormous step back out of range. “Sleeping! Don’t you dare wake her up with your wailing!” Oops! So much for not being annoying. Jackie swatted him for his trouble. “I meant to say; she’s exhausted. She needs her rest. I won’t let anyone wake her.” 

Jackie’s expression softened. “She hasn’t been sleeping right in ages. First, it was never. The doctors insisted on antidepressants. She’s always been stubborn but cheerful, Doctor. Then it was whenever she dropped… Then she’d sleep normally except…”

Rose had been on antidepressants. He flashed on how sad he had been when Donna found him in her wedding dress. Or how fake happy he had been for Martha… “Except?” he prompted, itching to get back to her.

“Every nine days she was up on the bloomin’ roof all night. Scaring her poor mum half to death!” 

The corners of his mouth turned up. “That won’t happen anymore, Jackie. Well, it might, probably. Can’t say I wouldn’t mind spending the night on a roof stargazing with Rose. Still, we’ll get a telescope. Safety straps…” 

Jackie gave him a piercing look. The Doctor ignored it, reaching for the tray. Jackie intercepted him, examining the tray. Antsy, he dodged around her. The kitchen floor was cold on his bare feet. The chill was creeping up, making his calves tightening in reaction. The Doctor would really like to hop back into bed with Rose’s human hot body. “Jackie,” he whined.

“Add butter,” Jackie advised, “Rose prefers butter on her toast. And cheese for breakfast? No bacon? I should redo this for you. You’re hopeless.”

“Yes,” he agreed, snatching the tray when she turned to the fridge. “Hopeless. You can do lunch. We’d love bacon then.” The Doctor moved away. Jackie dove in front of him to drop a butter dish onto the tray. “Thanks,” he said, offering her a gentle smile.

Jackie almost cracked, almost smiled at him. The Doctor really did love her, the fierce monster. “Just get your skinny self back upstairs before she finds you missing, and be grateful I’ve sent Tony off to the park with Pete. Nothing keeps that little cannonball from his big sister. So if you’re going to get up to any hijinx, mind you lock the door.” 

The Doctor fled. Warm moment over. Cheeks scorching. 

He did lock the door. Dropping the tray onto the bed, he climbed back under the duvet to enjoy the warmth Rose had been busy generating. From her breathing, she was in REM and wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. The Doctor leaned back against the headboard and ate his hearty breakfast. Taking breaks, the Doctor would glance down at her in wonder. “We’re in the same universe. Brilliant.” 

After breakfast, he slipped back through the secret door into the other room and the other ensuite to recover his suit. Whistling a different Hozier song, he sonicked his suit clean and hung up the trousers. The Doctor replaced the bunny tee with his own maroon one. Taking the jacket with him back into the bed, he went to work emptying the pockets.

The Doctor laid out three sonic screwdrivers on the bed. He’d stolen the one his scarf-wearing self had used, his own, and the one the poor memory addled one had used. The different cases amused him. It was good to have spares. The power source for a sonic screwdriver wasn’t exactly locally sourced. He could have fashioned one with some good Sheffield steel but why bother when he could nick three from the full Timelord? Stolen goods were so much sweeter.

Rose muttered something in her sleep. Her hand reached out blindly, finding his knee and wrapping around it under the duvet. Hot human hand on his leg. Hot human Rose hand on his leg. The Doctor hummed, distracted until she settled back down to snoring. 

Back to his pockets, he removed several large gemstones. He had three bags of gold dust from before the Time War, a brand new diary in Tardis Blue, a bag of jelly babies, and his prize! The Doctor pulled the orangey-pink piece of Tardis coral out and examined it for cracks. She was in good shape. Her color was lovely! Cooing to the baby Tardis, he heard a tiny little song touch his mind, soothing the gaping hole her mother Tardis had left behind. “Look at you, you magnificent thing!”

The hand on his leg slid up to his thigh and gripped. Was she trying to spontaneously combust him? The Doctor glanced down in time to see her eyes flicker open. Oh, he had missed this! He loved catching her first thing in the morning. When she awoke her eyes would slowly fill with warmth and light. 

“Hi,” she breathed.

“Hello.” His hand reached out and brushed her messy, lovely soft blond hair away so he could see more of her face. 

“S’there tea?” she managed before her eyes slid shut.

“Yes, stone-cold I’m afraid. There’s fruit and toast, Rose?”

Her eyes blinked open. He smiled again. Grumbling, she removed her hand from his thigh, his skin cooling immediately. The Doctor waited patiently as she shuffled up and leaned against the headboard. He handed her a cup of cold tea. “Blech,” she said.

“He makes her breakfast in bed and all she can do is insult his cold tea,” he groused.

A few sips later her eyes were more focused. “Time is it?”

“10:30,” he answered and offered her a piece of toast with butter.

“Thanks, sorry, not a morning person,” Rose grumbled rubbing at her face.

“I remember.” She mock glared. He giggled. “I have the scars to prove it.”

“I’m glad you stayed.” Rose’s smile was a soft lovely thing. 

“Yes well, someone cuddled me into submission.” 

Rose moaned. “Did I?”

He bobbed his head. Rose reached out to pick up the square-cut emerald. She turned it over in her hands. “Bet this is worth a few quid.”

“At least one credit stick,” the Doctor agreed. “Not unlimited, but one of the big ones.”

“My mum is going to steal this.” Rose handed it back. “And that ruby…”

“It’s a leero-jinn crystal. It’s a good substitute for the crystals used to run the helmic regulator. That one your mother can’t have.” He scooped it back into his pocket for safety. 

“Where did you get all of this?” Rose asked, grabbing up a sonic. Now there was an idea… If Rose used one of the spares, they could open twice as many locks and sonic twice as many toasters. Interesting… “You going to build a spaceship?” Rose’s expression grew cagey. 

“Well, I may have, and when I say may have, I mean I definitely did, rob the other Doctor. But since he’s me, it’s really impossible for me to steal from… myself. And yeah, yes, of course, I’m going to build a spaceship.” He placed the piece of coral in her hands. “Not right away… I was thinking we might want to start over. Get to know each other now… Besides, I’d need to build a shatrafrier to get this little baby going and that’ll take... Oooo months. Listen,” he said tapping the coral then tapping her temple.

Rose lifted the coral. “Feels like the Tardis…” Her mouth made a delightful ‘o’ of surprise. “Hello, yes, I think you’re beautiful. Of course, I love you!” Rose exclaimed. Eyes glowing faintly golden, Rose looked at him. “This is a Tardis!”

Nodding enthusiastically, he crushed that little niggling jealousy at how well his girls were getting along. “What do you say, Rose Tyler? Want to grow a Tardis with me?”

The Doctor was crushed to the bed under Rose as she enthusiastically hugged him. The tray was knocked sideways, food going everywhere and all he could do was laugh. Rose thumped him and pulled back. “I can’t believe you stole her!”

“Why not? I stole the first one. It’s very me.”

Rose nodded, “Very you, Doctor.”

He grinned. “So I’m still the Doctor then?”

“Shut up. ‘Course you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I am ending here for this one. I think, no, I know there's now going to be one more. I still have a bit more story to tell and that's it. (Maybe.) We need to get back to the good stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> Three parts for this one. I'm sorry but there must be tiny bits of angst to get to the fluffy bunny center.


End file.
